Finally, Some Good News! Toddlers Are Less Obese Than They Were 10 Years Ago

Finally: a feel good diet story! A report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a 43 percent drop–yes, drop–in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade. After being labeled as ‘children who could predecease their parents,’ obese youngsters were being burdened with chronic diseases that older adults suffered from like diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

This plummet did not arise without an array of prominent partners and plenty of media coverage. First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaigns have welcomed parents and their children to move their bodies with more activity and fill their plates with less junk. Meatless Monday campaigns have been on fire, spreading to 30 countries, school lunchrooms, restaurants and our home kitchens, with hopes that veggies will become the main dish and move meat over to the side, if on the menu at all. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg focused on ditching super-sizing to help us fit into our favorite sizes and he was instrumental in getting chain restaurants to display calorie listing on their menus.

As a mom of three, and after counseling kids and their parents for decades, I know that the process needed to create positive results is no surprise. Here’s my take:

- Parents need to set an example when they set the table and recognize that their eating habits are modeled by their children, even at very young ages. If moms and dads are not veggie fans, try adding pureed vegetables to sauces and nestle them amongst pasta dishes or other family favorites.

- The supermarket should be looked upon as a giant classroom for all ages. As soon as my kids could sit up, they were propped into a supermarket cart! Play red day, or green day in the produce aisle by matching colors to a variety of fruits and vegetables. For older children, a lesson in reading labels could help parents compare prices and panels on packages.

- Although this shift is impressive, it’s important now to make good habits stick. It’s essential to get kids into the kitchen so that families can make a meal for an evening and learn skills for a lifetime. Families that eat together share more than a meal; studies have shown that family meals lead to less drug abuse and cigarette smoking, better grades in school and better eating habits overall.

This report also arrived at a perfect time as we turn our calendars to the month of March — the month the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics deems as National Nutrition Month (NNM). This year’s NNM theme is, “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.” Let’s celebrate by showing that nutritious and delicious can coexist and share the good news with our kids.

This same report did show, however, that obesity rates increased for women over 60. Maybe we need to get grandma cooking, too!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RDN, CDN

Bonnie is Director and Owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants, LLC, with offices on Long Island and in New York City where she has been counseling individuals, including many celebrities and dignitaries, as well as...read more